Friday, September 25, 2015

Justice Studies and The Dark Side of Taiwanese Economic Development



Guiding Questions: Think about your understanding of bias, stereotype, prejudice, discrimination and privilege. These concepts work in collaboration with justice. Can we have a just world where prejudice and discrimination exist? What part does privilege play?
[Unit ppt]




I. Vocabulary: To fully understand justice, we need to include these words in the discussion: 
 (Vocabulary Review Games)

1. Bias:automatic preference, unconscious choice, can be positive or negative 偏見;偏心;偏袒
 

The government has accused the media of bias. 政府指責新聞媒體有偏見

Reporters must be impartial and not show political bias. 新聞記者必須公正,不應有政治偏見

There was clear evidence of a strong bias against her. 有明顯證據顯示,她受到了嚴重不公平的對待

There has always been a slight bias in favor of/towards employing arts graduates in the company.

公司內部一直有點偏向聘請文科畢業生。





2. Stereotype: over-generalization of a group(尤指錯誤的)刻板印象,老套俗見,成見

racial/sexual stereotypes

陳舊的種族偏見/性別成


Hedoesn't conform to/fit/fill the national stereotype of a Frenchman.

他不符合一般人心目中法國人的形象

The characters in the book are just stereotypes. 書中的人物毫無新意。






3. Prejudice: the choice of supporting an unjustified bias 成見,偏見,歧視

Laws against racial prejudice must be strictly enforced.

禁止種族歧視的法律必須嚴格執行

The campaign aims to dispel the prejudice that AIDS is confined to the homosexual community.

這項運動旨在消除愛滋病僅限於同性戀群體的偏見

He claims that prejudice against homosexuals would cease overnight if all the gay stars in the country were honest about their sexuality.

他主張如果國內所有的同性戀明星都能對自己的性向開誠布公,那麼對同性戀者的偏見就會立即消失。






4. Discrimination: prejudice made institutional 歧視;區別對待

racial/sex/age discrimination

種族/性別歧

Until 1986 most companies would not even allow women to take the examinations, but such blatant discrimination is now disappearing.

直至1986年大多數公司甚至還不允許女性參加這種考試,但目前這種明目張膽的歧視做法正在消失。






5. Privilege: having an advantage as a group over another group(特定個體或群體的)特權,特別待遇

Healthcare should be a right, not a privilege. 醫療保健應該是權利,而非特權

Senior management enjoy certain privileges, such as company cars and private healthcare.高級管理階層享受公司配車和私人醫療保健 等特權。




II. Match the correct definition to the new word.



A. Privilege

1. a fixed idea of someone or something that categorizes a group of people.
B. Discrimination
2.an automatic choice, preference about someone or a group
C. Prejudice

3. treating people poorly because they are different from you, have a difference skin color or race
D. Stereotype

4. the choice of supporting a bias, negative opinion or judgment

E. Bias
5. an advantage that only one group has over another



III. Activity: How Privileged Am I?

On a scale of 1-10, ten be the most privileged, where do you think you fall? ______

The following activity will help determine how privilege can affect a person’s life. Record your points on a piece of paper. Total your points at the end.

1. If you are a male, give yourself 3 points. 

2. If there have been times in your life when you skipped a meal because there was no food in the house, subtract 1 point.

3. If you have visible or invisible disabilities, subtract 1 point.

4. If you attended (grade) school with people you felt were like yourself give yourself 2 points.

5. If you grew up in a farming setting, subtract 1 point. 

6. If your family had private health insurance, give yourself 2 points.

7. If your holidays coincide with religious holidays that you celebrate, give yourself 1 point.

8. If you feel good about how your self-identified culture is portrayed by the media, give yourself 1 point.

9. If you have been the victim of physical violence based on your gender, ethnicity, age or sexual orientation, subtract 2 points.

10. If you or your parents have ever felt passed over for employment based on your gender, ethnicity, age or sexual orientation, subtract 1 point.

11. If your parents studied or lived in an English speaking country give yourself 1 point.

12. If your English is higher level, give yourself 2 points.

13. If you have been divorced or impacted by divorce, subtract 1 point.

14. If you came from a supportive family, give yourself 3 points.

15. If your grades are above 80% give yourself 1 point.

16. If one or both parents were able to complete university, give yourself 2 points. Add one point for each additional grandparent who completed university.

17. If you have always been able to easily buy clothes in your size, give yourself 1 point. 

18. If your parents, borrowed money or took out loans for your education, subtract 1 point.

19. If you had more than 20 books in your house while growing up, give yourself 1 point.

20. If you have ever felt unsafe walking alone at night, subtract 1 point.

21. Add one point for every time you have traveled outside your country.

Reflect:

The closer to 20 your score, the more opportunities you have had in your life.  

·         What do you understand about privilege and justice from this exercise?



IV. What is Justice? Fill in the graph below.  [++ Grammar just/unjust is the adjective]

Justice (noun) 公正,公平;正義Injustice (noun)不公正;不正義

Example sentences:
1. There's no justice in the world when people can be made to suffer like that.
如果人們被迫遭受這樣的痛苦,那麼世上就沒有公平正義可言了

2. The winner has been disqualified for cheating, so justice has been done (= a fair situation has been achieved). 獲勝者因舞弊而被取消了資格,正義得以伸張。

Example sentences:
1.The sight of people suffering arouses a deep sense of injustice in her.
看到人們身陷苦難,她深感世道不公
2.They were aware of the injustices of the system. 他們知道這種體制的不公正之處。
Name Examples in History:
 1.
2.
Name Examples in History:
The administration of law, especially the establishment or determination of rights according to the rules of law or equity

The management of what is just, especially by the impartial judgment of conflicting claims, rewards or punishments

The principle or ideal of just dealing or right action



V. Activity: The five standards talking about justice.

1. Recognize stereotypes and relate to people as individuals rather than representatives of groups.

2. Recognize unfairness on the individual level (e.g., biased speech) and injustice at the institutional or systemic level (e.g., discrimination).

3. Analyze the harmful impact of bias and injustice on the world, historically and today.

4. Recognize that power and privilege influence relationships on interpersonal, intergroup and institutional levels and consider how they have been affected by those dynamics.

5. Identify key figures and groups, seminal events and a variety of strategies and philosophies relevant to the history of social justice action around the world.

Refer to the five anchor standards during the next activities: To consider what these anchor standards might look like in the school setting, read the following scenarios. 

Scenario 1

Shawna timidly approaches her teacher, Mr. Bradley, after school. She explains that her uncle, who picks her up from school, frequently says negative things about Western people, and it has been making her feel uncomfortable. “He says that I shouldn’t be friends with Renee and Jeffrey anymore because their fathers are American,” Shawna says, “but I love all my friends!” Mr. Bradley tells Shawna that he’s proud of her and is sorry that she has to deal with something so difficult. He knows that Shawna’s parents would never approve of the way her uncle is talking and promises to call them that evening to discuss the situation.

Think about Shawna’s story. Which of the five Justice anchor standards are demonstrated?

Scenario 2

A class is discussing products made in China and products made in Taiwan. Kelly mentions seeing on TV that most of the clothes sold are made in other countries where workers aren’t protected the way Taiwanese laborers are.  She notes that even though workers’ conditions have improved, it doesn’t mean that we should ignore injustice elsewhere. She and several other students are inspired to go home and talk to their parents about purchasing clothes from companies that practice ethical manufacturing. They also plan to set up a clothes swap to help reduce wastefulness.

Which of the five Justice anchor standards are demonstrated in Kelly’s story?

Scenario 3

While Mrs. Douglas’s class is discussing immigration, some of the students start talking negatively about a Vietnamese student in another class, accusing his family of immigrating illegally. Julian speaks up, telling his classmates that it’s not appropriate to use stereotypes and spread rumors about others.  Julian tells them that the student’s family immigrated because they believe life in Taiwan offers more opportunities. He urges his classmates to respect their decision and says that the family’s status is none of their business. “Life must be hard enough moving to a strange new country,” he says. “Don’t make it harder for him by saying that he doesn’t belong.”

Think about Mrs. Douglas’s class story. Which of the five Justice anchor standards are demonstrated?

Scenario 4

Karen notices that many of her school’s facilities are not accessible to those with disabilities. Many students have difficulty navigating the school and are often late to class as a result. Karen decides to look into building plans to determine if any accommodations are available for those in the community with physical limitations. She forms a focus group of students and faculty to come up with effective solutions to the situation.

Which of the five Justice anchor standards are demonstrated in Karen’s story?
 
++++ I had wanted to wait until we studied Labor or Environmental Justice to talk about this next case study, but decided to show it to the students now and see what kind of discussion we could have, at least plant the seeds of labor and environmental injustice.

More than 1,500 former workers at a television factory in Taiwan have been diagnosed with cancer.
The company admits that it dumped hazardous waste, polluting the land and poisoning groundwater.
But did Radio Corporation of America recklessly expose its employees to cancer-causing chemicals?
For nearly two decades, sick workers have been waging a David and Goliath battle as they seek justice in the courts for their suffering.


 
Watch Taiwan’s Secret Cancer Video (25 min.)

Vocabulary: Whistleblowers, Labor activist, lawsuit, carcinogen, carcinogenic contamination, contaminated


Timeline:

1975-1991 RCA failed 8 Taiwan Labor Ministry health tests
1984- fire in RCA warehouses destroy all company and government records
1992 RCA factory closed down
1994 Workers begin to link sicknesses with RCA
1998- 1000 workers sue RCA
2006- Volunteer Legal Team file Taiwan’s first Class Action Lawsuit against RCA and parent companies
2009- First worker testifies in court

April 15, 2015- The court ruled in favor of the victims but for only 1/5 the amount and not everyone was compensated



1. What was the dark side of Taiwanese economic development?

2. Who is the company? Parent companies?       

3. RCA took 3 environmental surveys and didn’t tell their workers. What example of injustice is this?

4. Why couldn’t Taiwan hit RCA on legal penalties for polluting soil and water?

5. How were white collar workers privileged  blue collar workers?

6. Not only was groundwater contaminated, but so was the _____. RCA was recirculating contaminated air and not f________ it out.

6. How was Taiwanese scientific methodology different than those from RCA?

7. Why didn’t the workers think justice was not done?

8. What did the workers unanimously vote to do? What is the risk of that decision?What would you do?

Resources:
http://ens-newswire.com/2015/05/18/rca-taiwan-ex-workers-win-pollution-lawsuit/
http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_content.php?id=2722497


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